28 lakh Mumbaikars will travel in AC locals by 2019

The cityrsquos overburdened rail and road transport and lakhs of commuters who have no choice but to wriggle their way on it are in for someu00a0help The Oval MaidanVirar elevated rail corridor mdash monitored particularly by the Prime Ministerrsquos Office mdash will bring relief to 28 lakh Mumbaikars looking for a fast airconditioned alternative to the existent creaking transport infrastructure a revised feasibility study on the project saysu00a0 Workable An aerial view of Oval Maidan The report According to the report once the 63km rail corridor commences operation by 2019 some 26 of local train commuters will shift to it mdash half from the ones who currently travel firstclass and a fifth from secondclass commuters Work in progress on the VAG corridor in Andheri Also a tenth of passengers using buses taxis auto rickshaws and private vehicles will take to it keeping travel time and comfort in mind Together they tot up to 28 lakh commuters who are estimated to use the new corridor Monorail trial run in Wadala File pics The report prepared by a joint task force of members from railway board government of Maharashtra Western Railway and Planning Commission says the Rs 21000crore corridor will be elevated underground and at ground level It will have 26 stations three less than the existing suburban section the report says ldquoThe report is being considered before signing the statesupport agreement with the state governmentrdquo said a senior railway official The statesupport agreement has been pending as both the railways and the Maharashtra government have been having differences over how the project should be executed Passenger load The proposed corridor is expected to carry 27500 passengers per hour per direction PPHPD on the ChurchgateBorivli route and 10000 passengers on the BorivliVirar section For reference consider that the existing suburban rail system carries about 90000 passengers between Churchgate and Borivli and 30000 passengers between Borivli and Virar The railway authorities earlier expected to run sixcar trains although eightcar trains are recommended and shall manage to start operating 12car trains by year 2039 The growth rate in terms of the linersquos carrying capacity would dwindle over the years The projected traffic growth rate up to year 2026 on ChurchgateBorivli is 2 Beyond that year it is likely to come down to 1 Similarly on the BorivliVirar section traffic will grow by 5 up to 2026 and after that by 3 The corridor will integrate the ColabaBandraSeepz metro rail corridor at Hutatma Chowk which is proposed to be completely underground Presently the connectivity to Mantralaya and Nariman Point a hub for businesses is an issue BandraVersova Sea Link The BandraWorli Sea Link will get connected further north up to Versova creating an additional roadway This 10km road having 8lanes is expected to be completed within five years of tender allotment which is likely to happen by 2013 Cost Rs 4000 crore Additional rail lines Five to six rail lines are being constructed on both Western and Central Railways in order to separate suburban routes from long distance routes The work on western line MahimSantacruz is expected to be completed by 2013 by 2014 the KurlaCST lines will be ready Presently work on ThaneDiva section is under way while KurlaThane section is already complete Mumbai TransHarbour Link It will connect Sewri port to NhavaSheva in Raigad district Work on this 22km long sea bridge will begin by September 2013 and will take at least five years to finish Cost Rs 9000 crore Eastern freeway The 22km stretch once operational will allow direct connectivity to the Eastern Express Highway from South Mumbai by 2013end A subroad on Mumbai Port Trust road and Fort Market areas will provide better connectivity for goods vehicles The length of the proposed phase 1 project is 12 km from Museum to Anik The second phase of the project is from AnikPanjarpol to Ghatkopar Cost Rs 531 crore Metro lines The VersovaAndheriGhatkopar metro line is set to be operational by 2013 although it has been breaching deadlines for a very long time Cost Rs 2356 crore The ColabaBandraSeepz metro line will be completely underground and work on it is expected to be complete by 2014 The MMRDA claims the line will be operational by 2019 Cost Rs 21000 crore Monorail The first phase between Wadala and Chembur of Indiarsquos first and probably last such public transport is set to be operational after June 2013 The second phase of Jacob CircleWadala might be operational by early 2014 Cost Rs 2700 crore Inland Passenger Water transport This will provide water transport up to south Mumbai from both western Nariman PointGorai and eastern Ferry WharfNerul coasts The work on constructing jetties for this project has already commencedu00a0